1770 HARBOUR AND ISLANDS 383 
The harbour of Batavia is generally accounted the finest 
in India; and indeed it answers that character, being large 
enough to contain any number of ships, and having such 
good holding ground that no ships ever think of mooring, 
but ride with one anchor, which always holds as long as the 
cable. How it is sheltered is difficult to say, the islands 
without it not being by any means sufficient, but so it is 
that there is never any sea running at all troublesome to 
shipping. Its greatest inconvenience is the shoal water 
between the ships and the mouth of Batavia river, which, 
when the sea breeze has blown pretty freshly, as it often 
does, makes a cockling sea very dangerous to boats. Our 
long-boat, in attempting to come off, struck two or three 
times and with difficulty regained the river’s mouth; the 
same evening a Dutch boat loaded with sails and rigging for 
one of their Indiamen was entirely lost. 
Round the outside of the harbour are many small islands, 
some of which the Dutch make use of; as Hdam, to which 
they transport all Europeans who have been guilty of 
crimes not worthy of death. Some of these are sentenced 
to remain there 99, others 40, 20, 5 years, etc., according 
to their deserts, during which time they work as slaves, 
making ropes, etc. etc. At Purmerent they have a hospital 
in which people are said to recover much more quickly 
than at Batavia. On Kwyper are warehouses in which are 
kept many things belonging to the Company, chiefly such 
as are of small value, as rice, etc. ; here also all foreign ships 
who are to be hove down at Onrust discharge their cargoes 
at wharves very convenient for the purpose. Here the 
guns, sails, etc., of the “Falmouth,” a gun-ship which was 
condemned here on her return from Manilla, were kept, and 
she herself remained in the harbour with only two warrant 
officers on board, who had remittances most regularly from 
home, but no notice ever taken of the many memorials 
they sent, desiring to be recalled. The Dutch, however, for 
reasons best known to themselves, thought fit about six 
months before our arrival to sell her and all her stores by 
public auction, and send her officers home in their ships, 
